The Marine Corps has approved naming its installation in Algiers in honor of a Medal of Honor recipient who was awarded the nation’s highest honor for valor for action on Iwo Jima during World War II.

Department of the NavyLt. Col. Joseph J. McCarthy

Marine Corps Support Facility, New Orleans, has been cleared to be named in honor of Lt. Col. Joseph J. McCarthy, Lt. Gen. John Kelly, commander of Marine Forces Reserve, told the local Navy League council Thursday during a luncheon.

Marine Corps Commandant James Amos approved the honor as part of that military service’s commemorative naming program, which pays tribute to distinguished and heroic deceased Marines, according to a Marine Forces Reserve news release.

“We selected Lt. Col. McCarthy due to his tremendous combat accomplishments during World War II as part of the Pacific Campaign, his continued long service after the war with the Marine Corps Reserve and his extensive public service as a civilian,” Kelly said.

McCarthy, a Chicago native who has no clear connections to New Orleans, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Feb. 21, 1945.

As commander of a rifle company in the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division, McCarthy “fearlessly led the way across 75 yards of fire-swept ground, charged a heavily fortified pillbox on the ridge of the front and personally hurling hand grenades into the (Japanese) emplacement as he directed the combined operations of his small assault group, completely destroyed the hostile installation,” according to the citation accompanying his award.

McCarthy enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1937 and after ascending to the rank of first sergeant, he resigned in 1942 to accept a commission as an officer. He was awarded the Silver Star in 1944 for action at Saipan and received two Purple Hearts for combat wounds sustained at Saipan and Iwo Jima.

He retired as a reserve lieutenant colonel in 1971 and as a civilian he was superintendent of ambulances for the Chicago Fire Department, according to the Naval Historical Center. He died in 1996 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Marine Forces Reserve, a national headquarters command, is slated to move this summer into its new facilities in Algiers. The headquarters currently is at the Naval Support Activity in Bywater.

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Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3791.